The One That Got Away
by uatrainer22
Summary: I suck at titles and summaries, basically an old friend comes to Boston to shake up the lives of the Rizzoli's, one in particular. Inspired by the lovely radio  : R&R please
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this is just something that the radio inspired. Reviews are appreciated.**

**I don't own anything… at all. Haha, not R&I or any song**

**Enjoy (:**

**The One that Got Away, Chapter 1**

"You know what's so great about Boston?" Maura Isles asked while flipping through a magazine perched at the end of the white couch.

"What Maur? What's so great about Boston?" Jane replied absentmindedly and in a mocking tone. Partly because she was focused on the Sox game and partly because she fully expected a long drawn out 'Google mouth' as she called it, explanation of something related to science she could care less about from her best friend.

"We get great concerts here." Maura replied

This piqued Jane's interest, raising a brow slightly and glancing at Maura out of the corner of her eye (still keeping most of her attention on the game though).

"Oh yeah?" she called, knowing that was the only prompting the blonde would need to fill her in on everything.

"Yes Jane." Maura replied chipper "For example mister hunka hunka love is in town next weekend." Beaming brighter than the sun, making Jane want to puke.

"Who?" Frankie asked before Jane had a chance to even say anything. His tone of voice clearly indicating that he was surprised by Maura's antics, she was never one to use nick-names.

"Some new country artist she's obsessed with" replied Jane rolling her eyes and looking at Maura, now that the game had gone to a commercial break.

"I'm not obsessed Jane." Maura said defensively "And he's not just _some _new artist. He's amazing, and talented and gorgeous." She sighed looking down at the picture of him in the magazine.

"Whatever you say Maur." Jane replied

"Hey Jane, you know who's in town next weekend?" Angela said as she walked into the room

"Ah not you too ma," Jane replied

Angela, ignoring her daughter simply replied "That boy that used to like you, Frankie's friend… What's his name Frankie? Samuel something..?" she asked looking at her son

"Sam West, Ma. Sam West." Frankie replied grabbing the nachos from his sister who gave him a pointed look and rolled her eyes when she knew where her mom was going with this. Suddenly looking over at a coughing Maura.

"Yes that's him! Janey you should really call him. Maybe you and Frankie could double with him like old times. Frankie what's your girl doing next weekend?" Angela asked

"Wait, you know Sam West?" Maura all but sputtered the wine she was drinking.

"Of course dear. He used to be so in love with Jane here." Angela said

"Ma! He was not." Jane called back

"He better not of been! He was my best friend." Frankie replied looking at Maura. "Why?"

Mouth still agape Maura turned the magazine around and in big bold letters it read Sam West comes to Boston. Underneath was a picture of an attractive brown hair, blue eyed man in wranglers, a tee shirt, and a clearly worn ball cap that read Dirty Robber.

Jane laughed, "Well I guess he really did make it big eh Frankie?" Frankie laughed too "I guess so. Man he never mentions it…" Frankie said in awe. He took the magazine from Maura. Laughing again, "Look Jane, same old Dirty Robber cap, remember that night we got you to snea- Uh never mind." He said looking at his mom, hoping she didn't catch that. Jane smiled "Good times." She replied knowing her brother refereed to the night when they had begged her to take them to the bar. She had to tip the door man an extra $20 that night and promise a date, but it was worth it. They all had a blast that night.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me you knew him!" Maura said in disbelief taking the magazine back from Frankie so she could fawn over it again.

"Maur, I didn't know it was him. How can I make it up to you?" Jane asked.

"Take me." Maura replied, causing Jane to arch an eyebrow "Take you where?" she asked

Maura rolled her eyes "To the concert of course."

"Oh… uh sure." Jane said a little hesitant. What would she say to her brother's best friend? The same guy who she used to be fully in love with but would never, ever admit it.

"I'll call him up now and see when he comes in. Maybe we can hang out a bit." Frankie said stepping out of the room.

"What a lovely idea," Angela said "I'm sure he could use a good home cooked meal."

"Speaking of food…" Jane trailed off

"Yes, I'm actually hungry too. Is our real dinner almost ready?" Maura asked, wrinkling her nose at the left over pizza Jane and Frankie had fought over while dinner was in the oven.

"Should be," Angela replied standing and moving into the kitchen "Yep, alright kids come eat!" she yelled pulling it out of the oven.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two, as I said before – I own nothing**

Jane grinned walking into the morgue. Maura was hovering over a body, slightly dancing to the music coming from the radio, undoubtedly another one of Sam West's songs. Maura had been listening to his music non-stop since she found out that she would get to meet him. Crossing her arms and walking slowly as not to let Maura become aware of her presence, she snuck up behind the said ME who was just about to start her Y incision. Just as Jane leaned down to say "Boo" in the ME's ear, Maura piped up "I know you're there Jane." She said

"Maura!" Jane called putting emphasis on the 'ra' and slinging her arms slightly, in a defeated motion. "Just for once I would like to catch you off guard." She said circling around to the opposite side of the table.

"Yes well, with my impeccable hearing I think that will be quite a feat for you to achieve." Maura said as her scalpel slid smoothly over the body. She smiled as her first incision was made. Maura was always one to take her work seriously; she liked to do a good job, one she could be proud of. It wasn't just about being the best ME, but about showing respect for the person lying on the table, and their family.

Jane watched Maura work and listened to the lyrics spewing from the radio. The familiar voice made her smile, and the lyrics were fitting for the moment.

_If heaven wasn't so far away  
>I'd pack up the kids and go for the day<br>Introduce them to their grandpa  
>Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks<br>I'd find my long lost cousin John  
>The one we left back in Vietnam<br>Show him a picture of his daughter now  
>She's a doctor and he'd be proud<br>Then tell him we'd be back in a couple of days  
>In the rear view mirror we'd all watch 'em wave<br>Yeah, and losing them wouldn't be so hard to take  
>If heaven wasn't so far away<em>

Momentarily Jane's mind wandered back to when Frankie, Sam and she used to hang out. The three of them were inseparable. At first Sam was just Frankie's friend; in fact he used to make fun of Jane when her brother wasn't around. But one time he took it too far and she punched him square in the nose. From then on he was nice to her, even was ok with her when she started hanging out with him and Frankie. It didn't take long for them to form an inseparable bond. Jane would never admit it, because Sam was younger than her but she had liked him. He was the first boy she'd ever liked. But she never did anything about it. She didn't want to ruin the '3 musketeers'.

The summer of her senior year Sam's grandpa had died. It hit all three teenagers hard. She found Sam sitting in the tree house they had shared as kids when she first heard the news. It was just them two in that old fort and they sat there for hours. She held him while he cried. That was when she got her first kiss. She wasn't sure if he had meant it, after all she knew he was incredibly distraught at the loss. Never the less, she held on to the memory.

"Jane, earth to Jane?" Maura said waving a hand in front of Jane's face.

"Huh? Yeah Maur? What do you got?" she asked looking down at the body.

"I said, I might have a cause of death. But I don't think you're going to like it." Maura said closing the man's chest up.

"Why's that?" Jane looked at her friend, trying to meet her eye.

"Because, if it was natural causes then you don't have a case. Which means you get to spend the rest of the week doing paper work." Maura shrugged. Hearing Jane sigh, she continued "Unfortunately for us, it looks like he simply had a heart attack."

"What? Maur are you sure?" Jane asked running a hand through her hair. Maura just glanced up at her.

"Of course you're sure, what am I saying." Jane sighed "well then why would we even be called in?" she asked confused.

"Probably because the first officer on the scene thought what I initially had, that he was struck in the back of the head and killed." Maura said indicating the fracture in the occipital region of the skull. "But upon further examination, I'm sure he just had a heart attack and hit his head when he collapsed."

"Ok, thanks Maur." Jane said. Maura nodded her 'welcome' and Jane headed out the door to tell the rest of the gang the good news. She was sure they'd all 'just love' the opportunity to catch up on paper work.

**Sorry these are short chapters, Im super busy. **

**However, if youre ok with short chapters then I should be able to update every day. **

**Reviews are always appreciated (:**

**p.s. for those of you who don't know that song was "If Heaven Wasn't so Far Away, by Justin Moore"**


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry it's taken me so long to update, because of the delay I am giving you a long chapter (:**

**Chapter 3 **

Jane walked into the bullpen sighing. Flopping down at her desk she opened some drawers and rummaged through, hoping to find something, _anything_ to do besides paper work. Ugh, she even hated the word _paper work. _What kind of word was that anyways? _Paper _was innocent enough, but when accompanied by the _work _part, it just made her want to be sick. Finding nothing in the drawers that would be sufficient in deterring her from the task at hand she began her _paper work_.

Slowly she began day dreaming. She didn't mind really, any thoughts besides the ones she was having on this _paper work_ were fine with her. She thought about Sam, to no surprise. She remembered the good times and bad. The wars they would have out back with Frankie, mostly mud wars. Her mom hated that; she couldn't understand why Jane wasn't just like every other girl. One who wanted to play with Barbie's and mini kitchens instead of cars and G.I. Joes and God-forbid, mud pits. She smiled at the memory.

In high school things hadn't changed much for the three. Sure Jane was older and went to high school first, but when the boys got there she wasn't ashamed of them by any means. And when the senior boys started to pick on them she defended the two. She even got in school suspension for a week because she'd beat up the senior boy so bad. But no one ever messed with Frankie or Sam again, and soon there was no need for her to defend the boys. Once they passed the awkward geeky freshman stage they found their place as upperclassmen.

Both boys were protective of her when she started dating. She even heard rumors that Sam had scared off two boys who were planning on asking her to her senior prom because he didn't think they'd treat her right. Because of Sam, Jane ended up having no date, and wasn't going to go. _Who goes to senior prom anyways? You've got to wear a big poufy dress and do your hair and makeup. Ugh. _She remembers thinking as she was sitting in her room, crying. No one would ever know that though, because Jane Rizzoli did not cry, especially over prom.

But just like in a fairy tale her prince had shown up. Two hours before prom, Sam showed up at her door in a tux and with flowers. He asked if she would go with him, and informed that he'd come two hours early just in case he had to talk her into going. Sam got hell from Frankie for it for years, and she was sure he still wasn't completely over it, but no matter. They had had a blast at prom. There was no pressure to keep up 'after prom traditions' or anything of the sort because she'd just gone with a friend. Jane must have looked like a good staring off into space with a smile plastered on her face because she caught Frost looking at her smiling.

"What?" she asked sitting up from her slouched position, with one hand holding her head up.

Frost smiled even bigger "Got something on your mind there Rizzoli?" he asked. She looked back at her computer to quickly cover her blush.

"In your dreams, Frost" she replied, opening any file she could click on. She wasn't sure how long she'd been day dreaming but it had been long enough since she couldn't remember what she'd last worked on.

"Are you going to sit here all night?" Frost asked standing and picking up his jacket. Jane gave him a questioning look and he pointed to his watch. Looking at hers quickly she noticed the time, _5:45_. Halleluiah. Jane switched off her monitor and grabbed her jacket. Stretching, she made small talk with Frost as they left. Internally she scolded herself, _you left Maura's office 4 hours ago – I can't believe you spent 4 hours thinking about him. _

Jane drove straight to Maura's guest house. It had become an after work routine for all 4, Angela, Frankie, Jane and Maura. They all enjoyed each other's company. Usually Angela and Maura would bond over the latest cooking technique or a new Homes and Gardens magazine they'd picked up, while Frankie and Jane would watch whatever ESPN had to offer for the evening.

When Jane arrived her mom and Maura were already there. She entered the house without knocking, there was no need, and kicked off her shoes. Throwing her jacket and purse on the table by the front door she went and flopped down on the couch.

"How was your paper work?" Maura asked cheerfully from the kitchen behind her. A moan of detest was all that could be heard from the figure on the couch. Maura smiled and shared a knowing glance with Angela, who was also smiling. The two ladies in the kitchen went back to work chopping vegetables.

A few minutes later Jane could smell something cooking, she stood and sauntered into the kitchen, peering over Maura's shoulder onto the stove top.

"Whatchya makin?" she asked

"Just some lemon butter sauce for the chicken and pasta later." Maura casually said. Jane scrunched her nose at the tone, she hated how Maura could make what was sure to be a 5 course meal sound like just peanut butter and fluff sandwhiches.

"Oh, okay." She replied casually, moving over to the fridge. Pulling it open and looking for a beer she called over her shoulder "Ma, where's Frankie?" A smile played at the lips of the older woman but she was careful not to look up from the broccoli she was chopping. She didn't want to let the girls know she was up to something.

"I think he went to get some more beer." She replied as cool and calm as possible.

"I sure did!" Frankie called walking in the door with a 24 pack in each hand. Jane turned around yelling at him

"Well it's about damn time, Frankie! How many times do I have to tell you when you finish the last one to –" she cut herself off midsentence when she saw Sam walk up behind him. She broke into a huge grin, and became speechless.

At the sudden silence Maura turned around from the stove, following Jane's cod like face and stare to the door. Her facial muscles soon involuntarily adopted the same shape as Jane's did.

"I keep telling him he's gotta keep the fridge stocked with beer for my woman, but he never listens!" Sam called out to Jane. She blushed, at hearing him call her _his woman_, an act that didn't go unnoticed by her mother.

"Oh my God." Was all Jane could manage to say. But soon it didn't matter, as soon as Frankie had stepped out of the way Sam took three long strides to cover three fourths of the distance to Jane, and she had managed to take one herself, in an attempt to meet him half way. He picked her up in a big bear hug and swung her around. Giggling, like a school girl when he did so, Jane finally got him to place her back on the ground. Cringing a little when she felt the pain shoot through her right side, where his left arm had gripped her.

"Ah, sorry – Frankie mentioned you shot yourself. Guess your mom was right all those years ago when she said guns were too dangerous for girls." He winked at her. Jane shifted her weight from one foot to the other, she didn't like that she'd shown weakness in front of Sam.

"Who is this beautiful lady?" Sam asked looking at Maura. Quickly he crossed the room and stuck his hand out. Maura was speechless, sputtering for words as she took his hand and shook it.

"Uh, this is Maura, Dr. Maura Isles. Our head medical examiner." Jane said stepping next to the pair, hoping her friend would find her voice and finally speak to the man.

"Well, Dr. Maura Isles – it's a pleasure to meet you. My names Sam, Sam West." He said smiling.

"Uh, you can call me Maura, or Isles or whatever you prefer. Mr. West." Jane rolled her eyes, well she'd definitively spoken to him – she just wished Maura had sounded a little more intelligent when she did it.

"Oh Maura, please, call me Sam." He said replied, not breaking eye contact. Maura simply giggled a little.

_Oh Lord, _Jane thought. _I hope this wears off soon._

"What is that smell?" Sam asked finally turning to Angela, "Mrs. Rizzoli are you cooking again? You know I always thought you were the best cook out of all my friend's moms." He said walking over and enveloping her in a hug.

"Oh, Sammy." She said shaking her head but receiving the hug generously. "Maura is helping me. Isn't that right Maura?"

"Uh, yes that's correct. I'm making lemon butter sauce for the chicken, with broccoli we'll be serving as the main course." As she went on to talk about the desert and first course Jane drowned her out. All she cared about was that the food was going to taste good. Of course, she was also pretty happy her friend had finally found her intelligent voice around Sam.

While Maura continued to talk to him, Jane walked over to Frankie. Pulling him into a head lock she ground her knuckles into his head, not hard though – just enough to mess up his hair "Thanks for the warning kid, you could have at least let me get dressed up or something before bringing him in here." She said.

"Hey, he wanted to surprise you." Frankie replied in defense, trying to pull himself out of the head lock. Jane finally released him "Sure, sure" she mumbled. "But, never the less I think you owe me a cold beer." She said pointing to the cases long forgotten.

"Sure thing." He winked at her, he went and retrieved the cases and made busy getting out two frozen glasses, pouring the beer in them he headed back over to the couch. Setting them on the coffee table, he moved to sit in the chair next to the couch. Sighing as he could finally sit down and prop his feet up.

"Man, get your feet off the lady's table." Sam said to Frankie, as he sat next to Jane on the couch. Close enough to make her stomach flutter a little. She couldn't help but smile at his comment, and at Frankie moving his feet. _Man what is going on with me?_ She asked herself _I mean, butterflies? Really? It's just Sam! _But maybe that was the point. This _was _Sam. The same Sam she'd always loved, and almost had a relationship with before he went off to college. Could she still have feelings for him? Or better yet, did she still have feelings for him?

She pondered these things while they made small talk about the baseball game and drank their beers. But the way Sam kept looking at her gave her hope that if she did have feelings for him, maybe he still had those same feelings for her. Maybe. Only time would tell.

**Hope you liked this chapter, again sorry for taking so long to post ):**

**Review please and let me know your thoughts, good or bad!**

**Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Sorry I haven't been updating these last few days, hope this makes up for it!**

Jane slammed her fist down onto the table "I can't believe we _still _don't have a case!" she said with a tired voice. "I mean for real Boston, get your act together!" she moved her hands from the desk to massage her tired temples, it was close to lunch time and she'd been staring at the computer doing _paper work_ since she got there that morning.

"I know," Frost said leaning back in his chair and stretching, "I seriously wish we had _anything_ to do besides this." Jane still had her head in her hands so she didn't see Frost's expression change when Sam walked in the door behind her, or his nod of understanding when Sam held a finger up to tell him not to say anything.

Quietly Sam crept forward leaning down, just an inch or two behind her ear he whispered "Never were one to be trapped at a desk, where ya?" She nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around and throwing a hand on her chest in a subconscious attempt to slow her now sky rocketing heart beat she glared at him.

"I'm gonna kill you!" she said standing as he quickly retreated backwards, smiling.

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked teasing her yet still staying one step ahead of her.

"Oh yeah." She said pointing at him for emphasis.

"Well that's too bad, cause I came to take you to lunch…" he shrugged, still backing away from her. She stopped mid stride,

"Really? Food?" she asked softly. He couldn't help but laugh, and nodded his head "Yeah babe, food. That is what most people eat at lunch." _Did I just call her babe?_ He asked himself, hoping she didn't catch it. Staring into her eyes though he knew she did. He felt anxiety rise in him, _would she freak out?_

"Okay." Was all she could manage, she was thrown off guard by the use of the term and couldn't fathom why in the world he made her feel 13. She broke eye contact with him and turned to get her coat. But he was behind her in a second helping her into it. She looked over her shoulder and smiled up at him. She really didn't know what was going on with them, but she was fairly certain that she was ok with whatever it turned out to be.

"Okay, then." He said softly, "Where would you like to go? My treat." She quirked an eye brow and he smiled at her, _was this going to be a date?_

"It doesn't matter to me, I've eaten everywhere around here about a thousand times. Where do you wanna go?" she asked

"Why don't we just decide on the way?" he replied, neither one of them had broken eye contact the entire time, nor had he moved from his position behind her – except now his right hand had somehow found its way to her right hip.

"That sounds good." She could only manage to whisper. The electricity between them was thick; she was definitely not prepared for this to happen. Suddenly she remembered her partner; turning to him she was surprised to see him with a huge grin plastered to his face. He gave her a look clearly indicating he sensed the new sparks between the two. However she gave him a look of her own that said, _say something to embarrass me and you die._

"Would you like anything?" she opted to ask her partner instead of what she really wanted to say. His smirk faded a little, "Oh no, I'm fine – you two kids have fun." He said waving "Though I'm sure Mama Rizz will be a little disappointed that you're not going to be visiting her for lunch today." He said, another smile tugging at his lips.

"Your mom works here now?" Sam asked turning his attention back to Jane.

"Uh, yeah." She sighed tucking a strand of hair behind her ear "She started after dad left her…" she trailed off looking at the floor.

"What? You didn't tell me about that, honey I'm sorry." He pulled her into a hug "How's Frankie taking it?" he asked still embracing her.

"It's ok, and we're okay. It was almost a year ago now. Ma's doing fine, so we are too." Jane said, sounding sincere. She pulled away from him a little so he could look her in the eye and know she meant what she said.

"Okay" he said softly "But I'm here for you, you know that?"

"Of course." She smiled, "After all the crap I've had to listen to you tell me you better be!" she joked loudly with a slight laugh in her voice, then her expression changed "Thank you." She whispered, feeling her body's defense system go down. Truth was she really wasn't okay, she just hid it well.

"You got it." He whispered back. Clearing his throat he looked towards the door, "Well, we should get going."

"Yes, we should – I'm starving." She smiled and followed him out the door, glancing over her shoulder and waving to Frost.

Lunch went by much too quickly for Jane. They had an amazing time at a small dinner just down the road. Things were remotely normal for the two, except there had been some flirting and touching thrown in. Neither one knew where it was coming from but they sure weren't going to fight it. However, Jane was a little nervous about it when Sam held their hand as he led her from the restaurant to the car. Well truth be told it wasn't really him holding her hand that had her nervous – it was the cameras that were on them the entire way. Jane was only ever used to having to deal with reporters trying to get information on a murder ones she could often tell to mind their own dang business or something along those lines. She was not used to paparazzi trying to get information on a relationship. Could she call this that yet? Either way it didn't matter; this was unusual for her and made her nervous. Sam sensed her tension because he turned to smile at her and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

She thanked him as he opened the car door for her, but as she turned to sit down into the car their eyes locked. She couldn't help but smile, and neither could he. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, interrupted of course by the snapping of camera shutters. He pulled away and laughed a little, shrugging. She successfully sunk into the passenger seat and he shut the door for her. Quickly jogging around the front of the car he opened his own door and slid in.

"This happen often?" she asked gesturing to the cameras as he put on his seat belt.

"Uh, not too often to be honest, usually just when something big is coming up, like the concert this weekend. Of course, it could always be that they heard I was out to lunch with an amazingly beautiful woman." He smiled over at her, and caught the slight blush that rose in her cheeks. She smiled back at him full force. Turning over the engine he decided they should get going before more media arrived. Slowly he drove her back to BPD headquarters. Parking, he quickly jogged around to get the door for her again.

"Quite the gentleman lately." She said taking the hand he offered to help her out of the car

"Well, my mom always told me to treat a lady right." He said, not letting go of her hand, as they walked up the steps. Jane couldn't help but smile. Things just felt so right, who'd have ever thought she was going to be confronted with these feelings for him again? She sure hadn't expected it, but she definitely liked the way they were dealing with the feelings. He walked her all the way up to the bullpen, and stopped there.

"I feel like I'm dropping you off at your front door or something." He said turning to face her. She smiled "You mean like after a date?" she flirted. He nodded swallowing, he's probably never been this nervous around a girl and he really wasn't sure why. I mean, it was just Jane. But then again that was why, this was _Jane._ The same girl he'd liked since the 6th grade and he'd first become interested in girls. Of course he never did anything about it, out of respect to Frankie – but they were grown now, and if he was honest with himself, this wasn't just some crush he had on his friends' older sister. Suddenly he realized he'd just been staring at her. "Exactly like a date." Was all he managed to say, before he found himself looking at her lips. He looked back into her eyes, asking permission and found the answer he needed. Closing the small distance between them he placed a tender kiss on the brunette. Jane smiled into the kiss and tilted her head to the side so they fit better, grabbing the back of his neck. She was pleasantly surprised when he pulled her to him by placing his hand on the small of her back. The kiss wasn't heavy or passionate, but rather simple and loving. Jane pulled back, leaving her hand on his neck, she didn't mind when his stayed on her low back.

"I need to get back to work." She breathed out. He nodded "yeah, I've gotta go meet with my manager soon anyways." He sighed looking back at her lips. When his eyes meet hers again he couldn't help but smile. "Can I take you out tonight?" he asked. This time it was her turn to smile, "I'd love it if you did."

"Good. I'll grab you about 7 alright?" he asked slowly loosening his grip on her. She nodded, "sounds good." Reluctantly the two parted, and Jane walked into the bull pen. She knew she had the goofiest grin on her face, and she didn't care. She had a date tonight, with Sam West.

**Sorry for taking for ever to update guys, I hope you like it still.**

**Please review – I love feedback on what you do/don't like. Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for taking forever to get this up here for you…**

Jane picked at her dress. Silently thanking God that her and Maura were close enough in size to be able to share clothes. Smoothing her hands down the front of her dress she turned around slowly, successfully checking to make sure that her entire person looked nice enough to go out in public, where there were sure to be more cameras. She frowned slightly, she definitely did not like that her first real date with Sam was most likely going to end up on the cover of some _Star_ magazine.

"Relax, you look gorgeous." Maura spoke, standing from her seated position on the edge of Jane's bed.

"Thanks" Jane sighed. Maura walked up behind her, playing with her hair slightly to fluff it a little. Jane turned to face her, needing her best friends confidence to soak into her.

"First dates are hard enough, I don't need a thousand cameras following us around." She said

"I know, but honestly Jane, you don't have anything to worry about. You're beautiful and Sam adores you." Maura smiled, "I still can't believe you're going on a date with Sam West, my best friend is _dating Sam West!_" she practically squealed. Jane smiled largely as well; she was quite entertained by the fact that Maura saw him as an idol. To her, he was just Sam, the kid from down the block.

"Yeah, it's pretty unbelievable." Jane nodded. Just then the door was knocked on. "Ergghhh" Jane grunted with a scrunched face "too early, my nerves are still here." Maura only smiled. Both ladies walked into the living room where Maura sat on the couch, allowing Jane to answer the door.

"Wow, you look… wow." Sam said standing on the other side, of the afore mentioned door. Jane blushed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other "Uh, thank you." She managed to smile back.

"For you…" Sam said extending his arm to reveal a beautiful arrangement of flowers. What kind they were Jane wasn't sure, but she knew they were breathtaking. "Thank you." She smiled, stepping aside to let him in and receiving the flowers gracefully. "I'll just go place these in a vase, and then we can leave." She said before walking off to the kitchen.

"Maura, how are you?" Sam asked walking into the living room. Maura smiled up at him, the ever fashionable Medical Examiner took in his outfit. Dress loafers settled underneath a pair of black dress slacks, which complimented the white button down he was wearing, underneath a black sports coat. "I'm doing well, how are you?" Maura asked crossing her legs and placing her hands on her knee.

"To be honest," Sam whispered sitting next to her "I'm terrified." Maura immediately straightened her already perfect posture "That's absurd." She replied

Shaking his head, Sam glanced behind him to ensure Jane wasn't there "No, Maura. I'm serious, I'm so freaked out. I really like her, I mean _really." _He nodded for emphasis.

"Well, there's nothing to be worried about." Maura nodded, "She _really _likes you too." She said with a wink. She saw him breathe out a visibly relax a bit. Just then Jane entered the room, "Are you ready?" she asked.

Sam stood, and walked to open the front door for her. "After you…" he gestured. Jane smiled, "thank you." She said softly, and walked out the now open door. Sam took a final glance back at Maura who smiled at him reassuringly. He smiled back and followed his date out the door, placing his hand on the small of her back the led her down the stairs.

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, but not awkwardly so. They made small talk about a new building, or an old one that had gone out of business while Sam was away. They were almost to the restaurant when one of Sam's songs came on the radio.

_I've been watching you girl, way you move got the room on fire – oh yeah, rock my world. Wanna take you home with me. _

Sam blushed and moved to change the station, Jane grabbed his hand "please, don't." she asked. He glanced over at her and she could see how embarrassed he was. However, he nodded his head in compliance and used the hand she had stopped from switching stations to grab hers. She hummed along to the song as his thumb caressed the back of her hand. Jane opened her mouth to speak, when Sam cut her off.

"Prom." He said simply. She gave him a confused look and opened her mouth to speak again. "You were going to ask what the song was about, right?" he asked glancing at her. She nodded, slightly disarmed by his ability to read her mind.

"I wrote it, prom night." He said. "I had watched you dance all night, and I just couldn't help myself. You were on my mind. "

_Oh my time is flyin, 2 am and the bar is closing. _

Jane glanced at him, about to call him out on the fact that there was no bar at prom.

"Okay, so I wrote the chorus and first verse after prom." He said, reading her mind yet again.

"You know, that's getting really creepy." Jane said to lighten the mood, smiling.

He laughed "Sorry"

They pulled into the parking lot as the song was dying out. He turned off the engine and ran over to open her door.

_Flash! Flash! Flash!_

Oh boy, Jane thought, here goes nothing. Just as the door opened she took his hand and stepped out of the car gracefully. He continued to hold her hand as they walked from the parking lot up to the restaurant, as they were continually photographed. Jane was doing her best to ignore the photographers, and not look too nervous.

Once they were inside the flashes stopped, as the paparazzi were not allowed in this particular restaurant, which was why Sam had chosen it. He knew all the attention made Jane uncomfortable and that was the last thing he wanted.

Dinner was wonderful, the food and wine were delicious, and the conversation was light and flowed wonderfully. Both Jane and Sam enjoyed themselves thoroughly. After the bill was paid Sam stood and pulled Jane's chair out for her. Placing the white linen napkin on the table she stood, grabbing her clutch and allowed herself to be led to the front door. She hesitated before stepping outside, "It's alright, we can take our time." Sam whispered. She smiled over at him "I'm sorry, I just don't want to embarrass you." She replied, softly and honestly. He looked stunned, pulling her out of the door way he guided her down a hall that led to the bathrooms, stopping half way down it for privacy. Holding both her hands he looked into her eyes "Sweetheart, you could _never _ever embarrass me. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life. Not to mention that you're incredibly smart, strong, and loving." He shook his head, looking down for a second, as he felt _all _of his emotions beginning to play across his face. Finally, looking back up at the brunette he smiled "we can sneak out the back if you want." She smiled in return, "No, I'll be alright, thank you though."

"Of course." He replied, stepping to the side and holding his arm out so he could properly escort her back down the hall to the door, and hopefully outside. Still wearing her smile she took his arm, and together they walked out.

They managed to get to the car more quickly than Jane had thought. She smiled and slid into the car via the open door he provided her with, however not before a light kiss – which of course was photographed. On the drive back however, Jane began to realize that she didn't care. What was the big deal if they wanted her picture? She sure wasn't embarrassed by the fact that she was on a date with a handsome man, and if he wasn't embarrassed by her then there wasn't an issue. _Besides, _she thought _if I want to date him, and not just have one date with him I'm going to have to get used to the cameras._ She smiled at that thought, oh yes tonight had gone well she suspected that there would be a second date.

Sam caught her smiling "what?" he asked, smiling as well. She blushed; caught staring off into space smiling was always embarrassing for her.

"Just thinking that I had a wonderful time tonight." She replied honestly. If possible Sam's smile got larger. "What a coincidence, I was hoping you were thinking that." He replied, eliciting laughter from her.

"I had a wonderful time too." He said, softly, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. The rest of the drive was silent, as they just enjoyed each other's company.

When they arrived at her apartment he continued being a gentleman, opening her door for her, leading her to the front door and waiting for her to make the next move. She fiddled with her keys, deciding whether she wanted to ask him to come in or not. She decided that even though she had a wonderful time she wasn't going to ask him in. She wanted this relationship to be different than her others, she wanted to really take her time with it. Finally selecting the right key, she placed it in the lock and turned it until she heard the familiar unlocking _click_. She turned to look at him, one door still on the knob.

"I had a fantastic time tonight, Sam." She said, "Thanks for dinner and wonderful conversation." He smiled back at her "You're very welcome sweetheart." His left hand found its way to her right hip, and he couldn't help it when his eyes traveled down to her lips. But he waited. She smiled at his touch, and leaned into him. Taking that as his okay, he leaned in and gave her a slow soft kiss, pulling away before things got heated. However, he didn't anticipate that she'd leave her key in the door and use both hands to grasp the back of his neck and pull him to her, leaning against the door frame as she did so. Startled by her response, he had to place his right hand on the wall to keep his balance, while his left gripped her hip more firmly. This time it was she who initiated the kiss; this one was full of passion and heat. He pulled back when suddenly oxygen became more important than her soft lips, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I should go…" he said in a whisper. Reluctantly she nodded. He smiled and gave her one last soft kiss before completely pulling back.

"Lunch, tomorrow?" he asked hopeful.

"That would be wonderful." She smiled, opening her front door. He smiled back at her "Fantastic, see you then."

"See you then." She repeated, slowly stepping into her apartment. He nodded, and stole another quick kiss before turning and heading down the hall.

Shutting her door she leaned against the wall next to it. She couldn't wipe the goofy grin plastered to her face. If she had to be honest with herself- that had been the best first date she'd ever had. _Heck, _she thought _that was the best date ever, period._ Pushing herself off the wall she made her way to her bedroom, where she quickly changed into her pajamas and headed to bed. The sooner she slept, the sooner morning would arrive, and the sooner morning arrived, the sooner she'd get to go to lunch with Sam, something she was definitely looking forward to.

_**Ok, so I know I haven't updated inforever but hopefully you still enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to work hard to get you another one up soon. **_

_**Please review and let me know what you do or don't like about it!**_

_**Thanks!**_


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